Vanished
by Kylie Anderson
Summary: When Danny Taylor doesn't show up for work one day and leaves a chilling message on Jack Malone's answering machine, the missing persons unit fears the worst. In order to find Danny before it's too late, they must first get to know him.
1. Chapter 1

Vanished

Chapter 1

You think you know the people you work with. You work beside them each day and trust them with your life, but its tragic how someone has to go missing before you actually realize, you don't really know them at all.

((-))

Danny Taylor's cell phone rang in the middle of the night. He groaned as he rolled over to reach for it. He assumed it was Jack calling to tell him he found Janelle Brings, the missing girl. "Taylor," Danny grumbled.

Danny suddenly sat up straight. "Okay, relax. I'll be right over. Don't do anything until I get there, you got it?" Danny barked into the phone.

He carefully listened to the person on the other end. "Alright. Everything is going to be fine. I'll be there in a second." Danny said before hanging up his phone.

Looking for a spare coat, Danny grabbed his gun…just in case. He sighed before walking out of the apartment. As he walked down the hall, the darkness swallowed him. Danny Taylor simply vanished into thin air.

((-))

After the weekend, Martin was almost welcoming work. His father came to visit him and well, that alone speaks for itself. Sam was already sitting at her desk eagerly working. "Hey," Martin greeted before sitting down at his desk. "How was your weekend?"

Sam laughed. "Ah my weekend! I spent most of it catching up on the lost sleep. You?" Sam asked moving a few files.

"My dad came over to visit. That right there is just a weekend of pure…" Martin began.

Sam shook her head. "Don't finish that thought," Sam warned as she saw Jack walking out of his office.

Vivian brushed past Jack and set her coat down on her chair. "Viv, how was your weekend?" Martin asked.

Vivian gave Martin a tired look. "That well, huh?" Martin asked with a grin.

"Reggie wanted to go over to Jim's house and I wouldn't let him because he was supposed to have 'cleaned' his room." Vivian said.

"Teenage boys," Sam muttered.

Vivian laughed. "Tell me about it!" Vivian said starting up her computer.

Jack sighed as he sat down at one of the larger tables. "Janelle Brings was found dead about an hour ago." Jack said shaking his head.

Sam, Martin and Vivian crowded around him. "What?" Sam asked in surprise.

"How?" Martin asked.

"It was Roger like we thought it was. There was nothing we could have done though. He had already killed Janelle even before we started working this case." Jack said heavily.

Sam gave a deep sigh. "The poor girl was only sixteen." Sam muttered.

Jack looked at his watch. "Where in the heck is Danny? He was supposed to have been here early this morning to finish a report that's weeks late!" Jack said angrily.

Martin got up. "I'll call his apartment." Martin offered sensing Jack's angry mood.

((-))

Martin dialed Danny's number. "You've reached Danny Taylor's answering machine. I'm not here right now. Please leave a message after the beep." Danny's voice said before a loud beep.

"It's Martin here. You better get down here. Jack's going on a hissy fit because of you. Just hurry up so we don't have to listen to him anymore!" Martin said. "Where are you anyway? Did you get kidnapped? That's not a great excuse Danny."

Martin would later regret his words.

((-))

Vivian, Sam, Martin and Jack were catching up on paperwork. Jack kept looking at the clock. He was already angry that Danny hadn't shown up for work, but now Van Doren was breathing down his neck for Danny's report. This only made Jack angrier. Danny had always been a dependable person but now he was making Jack's job harder than it needed to be. "Did you call Danny?" Jack asked bitterly.

Martin nodded. "Yeah I called him four times and left a few messages on his answering machine." Martin said.

Jack felt his stomach drop. His anger was replaced with worry. "Did you call his cell phone?" Jack asked breathlessly.

Martin nodded. "I did, but no one answered." Martin replied.

Vivian sensed something was wrong with Jack. "What is it Jack?" Vivian asked.

Jack sighed. "Danny's been here for years. He's always dependable. He hasn't been late without calling. For him to be an hour late without letting anyone know…it's not like him." Jack said expressing his worry.

Sam looked down at her paperwork. "Well, we can check out his apartment if you want us to." Sam offered. "I mean all we're doing is paperwork and Danny's probably sleeping away."

Jack shook his head. "No. I'm sure it's probably nothing, but if he doesn't show up in half an hour, please go check it out with Martin." Jack said.

Sam nodded before going back to her paperwork.

((-))

Going back to his office, Jack noticed his phone was blinking alerting him that he had a new message. Jack sat down behind his desk and played the message. "Jack, it's me Danny. I'm in a bit of trouble right now so I can't talk long. If I don't show up for work, you gotta look for me. I…" Danny's voice began before it was cut off by a loud bang.

Jack jumped up and quickly made his way over to Martin and Sam. "Check out Danny's apartment now!" Jack ordered.

Martin and Sam got up quickly. "Why the change in plans?" Sam asked.

"Danny left a message." Jack explained swiftly. "Go now! Danny's in trouble!"

((-))

Vivian sat down in Jack's office listening to the message Danny left. "When did he call?" Vivian asked.

"The machine says he called at four in the morning on Saturday." Jack said quietly.

"It sounds like shots being fired near the end of the recording." Vivian pointed out.

Jack nodded. "I know." Jack muttered. "God Vivian, he could have been dying at this point. Why did he call my work number? Why didn't he call 911 or my home number?"

Vivian shrugged. "From what it sounds like, Danny was probably confused and in trouble. He knew he could trust you, so he called. It may have seemed logical to him at the time." Vivian said.

Jack rubbed his forehead. "The last time I saw him was Friday night. Something happened between nine on Friday and four in the morning on Saturday." Jack muttered.

"Where you the last one to see him?" Vivian asked.

Jack thought for a minute. "No. I don't think so. I think Martin was with Danny when I left." Jack answered.

_Martin looked at the clock. It was already nine o'clock. "I'm going home. I suggest you two do the same." Jack said yawning. _

_Danny nodded with a smile. "We would love to, but you see, our boss decided to let us handle the paperwork." Danny said. _

_Jack smiled back. "It can be done later." Jack said. "See you on Monday," _

_Martin and Danny nodded before turning back to their computers. _

"That's good. Martin can tell us when he left so we can narrow down the time frame." Vivian said.

Jack nodded grimly.

((-))

Sam and Martin knocked on Danny's apartment door. Danny lived in a terrible apartment building, but he always seemed happy with it. "Hey Danny, it's Sam." Sam said as she knocked louder.

An old woman came out from the next apartment. "Danny's not here sweetie." The woman said. "Are you this girlfriend? It's about time Danny got another girlfriend. Ever since last week, he's been moping around."

"What do you mean he's not here?" Martin questioned. "We're with the FBI."

"The walls are like paper around here. I heard the phone ring at about one o'clock in the morning on Saturday. I heard Danny talking on the phone and then I heard him leave. So I went into the hall…" The woman began.

"_Danny, where are you going?" The woman asked. _

_Danny looked back at her. "Mrs. Little!" Danny said surprised. "It's one in the morning. Why don't you go to sleep?" _

"_Something's wrong with you Danny. What is it?" Mrs. Little pressed. _

"_I've got a friend who needs my help right now." Danny said quickly. "He needs my help quickly, so I have to go."_

_Before the woman could say another word, Danny quickly walked down the hall. _

"And I haven't seen him since." Mrs. Little declared.

"Do you know who his friend was?" Sam asked.

Mrs. Little shook her head. "No, Danny didn't say. He's very quiet about his personal life. Wait, you said you were with the FBI, right?" Mrs. Little asked.

Sam nodded. "Danny works at the FBI. I hope everything is all right." Mrs. Little said.

"We're just looking for him. Now you mentioned something about a girlfriend…" Martin prodded.

Mrs. Little nodded. "She was a very sweet girl. She would come and go with Danny…" Mrs. Little said remembering. "She and Danny had a huge fight last week…"

"What were they saying?" Martin asked.

Mrs. Little shrugged. "I have no idea. I learned Spanish when I was a young girl…" Mrs. Little began.

"Wait, they were speaking Spanish?" Sam asked.

Mrs. Little nodded. "Yes! Yes! Danny was from Cuba. I had a friend who came from Cuba once…" Mrs. Little began again.

Martin felt like hitting this lady over the head. She wouldn't focus! "What did the woman look like?" Sam asked trying to get Mrs. Little to focus.

"She looked Hispanic. She had beautiful long black hair and big brown eyes." Mrs. Little said. "And I think she works as a nanny."

"Why do you think that?" Martin asked.

"Well she came around with a little kid and told Danny that she had to take the Willington's kid to go get ice cream or something like that." Mrs. Little said.

"Wait, weren't they speaking Spanish?" Sam asked.

Mrs. Little smiled. "Danny speaks English you know. Sometimes he and that girl speak English, other times Spanish." Mrs. Little said.

"Thank you." Martin said before going back to Danny's door.

Martin attempted to open the door. "It's locked." Martin commented to Sam.

"Of course it is! Any sensible boy locks his door. Here's a key." Mrs. Little said handing Martin and Sam a key.

They looked at her oddly. "You have a key to his apartment?" Sam questioned.

Mrs. Little smiled. "Of course. Danny is always helping me. When I'm at the hospital, he waters my plants and he visits me. He talks to me all the time. So when he's at work and he works late, I can water his plants!" Mrs. Little said.

Martin smiled. "How nice," Martin commented.

When they opened Danny's door, they found his apartment had no occupant. Danny was not there. "We better call Jack and tell him what we know." Sam said quietly.

"Yeah," Martin said hollowly. "We better."


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Martin and Sam sat down at the conference table. Jack and Vivian were already there waiting for them. "Danny is now officially missing." Jack said quietly. "Van Doren has agreed to let us take the case. She wants everything done by the books. That means we have to start a timeline. Martin, I think you were the last person to see Danny."

Martin nodded. "Um…yeah. I was. We were working late…"

"_So did you see how those Mets did last night?" Danny said as he turned off his computer. _

"_Yeah. But I'm sure Vivian has to tell you how well the Yankees did the other day." Martin said picking up his coat. _

_Danny laughed as he put his coat on. "I'm sure she does." Danny replied. _

_Martin and Danny went down on the elevator. "I'll see you Monday." Martin said. _

"_Have a good weekend," Danny said as he walked down the sidewalk. _

"What time was this?" Jack asked.

Martin thought for a minute. "It was at about ten." Martin said at last.

"And how did Danny seem?" Jack asked.

Martin stared blankly at Jack. "What?" Martin asked.

"Was Danny angry? Upset?" Jack asked.

"No! This is Danny. He was laughing, smiling." Martin said. "And what is this? Am I being interrogated? I didn't do anything to him!"

Jack stood up. "Martin, I need you to focus. I know you didn't have anything to do with Danny's disappearance, but you were the last person to see him." Jack said. "Now, did Danny mention anywhere he would go? Did you see where he went?"

Martin sighed. "No. He just told me to have a good weekend and then I caught a cab." Martin said.

Jack nodded. He turned to Vivian. "Danny was last seen by Martin at ten. I'm assuming he went home until his neighbor saw him leave at one. He then called me at four. That leaves a three hour period. We need to find out what happened in those three hours." Jack said.

Vivian nodded as she began making a timeline. "Jack, do…do we need to put a photo of Danny…up there?" Sam asked quietly.

Jack sighed. "We're going to have to." Jack said at last.

Sam nodded. "Who's going through his apartment? And his desk?" Sam questioned.

Jack looked at Vivian, Martin and Sam. "Look, I know that this whole investigation is going to be awkward, but right now, Danny is in trouble and he needs us. So we're going to do everything we can to get him back." Jack said. "That being said, I'll go through Danny's desk and apartment. Martin, you'll help me. Sam and Vivian, I'm going to need you to find Danny's girlfriend."

Everyone nodded before walking away. Martin walked over to Danny's desk where Jack had already started sifting through file. "Jack," Martin said softly.

"Yeah?" Jack asked without looking up.

"Can I go through his desk?" Martin asked. "I don't want to go through Danny's apartment."

Jack looked at Martin. Martin seemed rather withdrawn ever since he learned Danny was missing. "Sure," Jack said stepping aside.

Jack began to walk down the hallway.

((-))

"I found her!" Sam exclaimed.

"How? We've only been looking for six minutes." Vivian said.

Sam smiled pointing to her computer screen. "Apparently you have to sign up to be a nanny or something like that. Rosie Sanchez was the only nanny fitting Mrs. White's description that works for the Willington family." Sam said.

Vivian got her coat. "Let's have a talk with Rosie then." Vivian said.

((-))

Jack knew that Danny lived in a rather bad neighborhood, but he didn't realize how terrible it was until he actually walked into Danny's apartment. Danny didn't have many belongs or furniture. He had a small kitchen filled with a little bit of food; his bathroom was big enough to hold just a sink, toilet and a shower; his bedroom had a twin sized bed and a closet. Other than that, Danny's apartment was empty. Jack sighed as he began to look through Danny's drawers. It was something every FBI boss hoped they never had to do.

Within a few minutes, Jack discovered Danny had an AA bracelet in his drawer. Beside it was a journal. Jack slowly opened it finding Danny's messy scrawl. Jack's heart almost stopped when he was forced to read the first page.

((-))

A Hispanic woman was walking out of a large house with a toddler. "Rosie Sanchez?" Sam asked as she approached the woman.

"Si?" Rosie responded.

Vivian pulled out her badge. "We're with the FBI. We want to talk to you about Danny Taylor." Vivian said.

Rosie nodded. "James, why don't you go play on the swings?" Rosie asked in a thick Spanish accent. "What about Danny?"

"What was your relationship with Danny?" Sam asked.

Rosie looked confused. "Relationship? I don't understand. My English isn't good." Rosie said.

"Were you dating him?" Vivian asked.

Rosie shook her head violently. "No. Danny told me, no drugs, no tobacco, no alcohol, nothing illegal." Rosie said firmly.

"How do you know Danny?" Sam asked.

Rosie sighed. "Danny told me to talk with the police. He said you are good. So I tell you. I came from Columbia as drug mule. Danny met me in a coffee shop. I didn't say anything, but he knew. He told me he could help me. And he did. He got hurt getting me away from bad people, but he told me he wanted to help me. He got me cleaned up and made me become legal citizen and now I'm American! Danny is a very nice person." Rosie said smiling.

"I heard you had a fight with him last week." Sam said.

Rosie looked down. "Danny says to tell the truth, so I do so." Rosie said heavily.

"_What do you mean you're doing drugs again?" Danny asked furiously. _

"_I sorry, but I…I needed to!" Rosie said trying to explain. _

_Danny took her by the shoulders. "No you don't need to Rosie! You have a job and you're doing so well! All you have to do is say no." Danny said. _

_Rosie was crying. "I needed to so badly…it was hurting me. You have to understand!" Rosie shouted. _

"_I understand, but that's no excuse. You need to stop!" Danny shouted back. _

_Rosie quickly turned away and left. _

"But Danny was right. I don't need to. I stopped and in NA which is Narcotics Anonymous." Rosie said proudly.

"Do you know if Danny had any girlfriends?" Vivian asked.

Rosie shook her head. "No, but Danny did talk about people named Vivian and Sam. He talked about them a lot. I can tell he liked them." Rosie said. "Danny didn't say much about personal."

Vivian and Sam smiled. "Thank you Rosie," Vivian said.

"Why you ask about Danny?" Rosie asked as Vivian and Sam were leaving.

"He's missing." Sam said.

Rosie looked upset. "Oh no! I hope the Columbian drug people I was with didn't hurt him! You have to find him…" Rosie said.

Sam and Vivian nodded before walking down the steps.

((-))

"Apparently Danny is the kind of person who is willing to go up to strangers and help them." Sam said sitting down at the conference table with Vivian and Martin.

"I went through his desk, but there wasn't anything there." Martin said sighing.

Jack sat down at the conference table. "I went through his apartment." Jack said quietly. "I don't know how much you know about Danny, but he was an alcoholic at one time. He's been sober for twelve years. Danny also came from Cuba at a young age. His parents died in a car accident when he was eleven. He also has an older brother who has criminal record."

Jack sighed as he showed them the journal. "This is an assignment that Danny had when he joined AA. They had to keep a journal." Jack said as he opened to the first page.

_June 2, 1994_

_This is my first time writing in here. Our counselor says that keeping a journal will 'help control our urges'. That's pretty messed up. I'm writing and I still want a nice cool beer. Anyway, I want to get clean. I never told anyone this before, but I want to join the FBI. In order to do this though, I got to start jerking people around, get smarter and stop drinking. _

_Since that lady isn't going to be reading our journals, I want to first say that I am pretty messed up at this time. That's going to change though. I'm trying really hard to change. I'm going to get sober and stay sober for a long time. I won't deny I've had thoughts of suicide. The only thing that's stopping me from hanging myself from the bar in my bathroom is the promise of tomorrow. I know that sounds a little stupid, but I really think if I clean up my act, tomorrow I'll be able to start all over. I'll change my name and leave the past behind me. I won't kill myself just because things are bad. I'm going to get better and then help other people so they won't be alone._

_Anyway, I better go. I've got to go to a no good job. _

Sam gasped. "He thought of suicide?" Sam asked shocked.

Jack sighed. "Danny wrote in here whenever he could. I've read all of it and it only gets worse." Jack said.

"How?" Vivian asked.

"Danny attempted to commit suicide." Jack replied.

"Oh my God!" Sam muttered. "When?"

"A few years ago…" Jack said before reading the entry.

_May 15, 1998_

_I've tried it. I am so…I'm so ashamed of myself. It just got so bad. My brother came around asking me for drugs and I told him to go. I mean, it doesn't get any worse than this. My parents are dead because of me, my brother is a drug addict, and I'm just trying to make ends met. _

_So, I thought my only way out was to kill myself. I tied a noose out of rope from my truck. I put it on the pipe in the bathroom and I got a chair and hung myself. It hurt, but I was happy. I was happy to be dying! How odd is that? Anyway, when I was up there flaying around like a fish, I thought 'This is a mistake. I shouldn't be dying.' But at that point it was too late. I couldn't do anything and I couldn't breathe. Luckily, the rope broke and I sat on the floor gasping for each breath. _

_I now know. I am lucky to be living and no matter how bad it gets, I'll stick it through. _

Sam had tears in her eyes. "Why would he do something like that?" Sam asked.

"I guess we really don't know Danny. We've never had to deal with growing up like that." Jack said. "From what I get Danny's father was an alcoholic and he beat on his mother and Danny. His brother didn't do much to help. They came to America to make a better life only to die a short while afterwards. Danny was trapped in the car with his dead parents. His brother is always asking him for money…"

Vivian looked up. "When was the last entry?" Vivian asked.

Jack looked at the journal. "July 31, 2006, why?" Jack asked.

"That was four days ago." Vivian said. "You should read it."

Jack nodded.

_July 31, 2006_

_I don't even know why I bother to write in here anymore. I don't know why I still go to AA meetings even though I know I'm not going to drink again. I don't know why I do half of the things I do. _

_All I know is that I'm very lucky. I came from nothing and I got myself a good job. My co-workers are great people. Sam is a nice girl. She's always trying to understand things from the victim's point of view. Vivian's like a mother. I felt so bad when I heard she had heart disease. I would have died if she…well, I'm glad Viv's alright. Martin has a problem, but the way I see it, we all do. I only wish he'd let me help. I've known a lot of addicts. That only leaves Jack. Jack's a bit on the edge, but I tell you, I would jump off a bridge if Jack Malone wanted me to. I'm very loyal to him because…even though some may say it's unethical, Jack can find people very well and is willing to do anything to save them. My co-workers are just amazing people and I'm very glad to have them as…friends. _

_The case we're working on is a rather hard one. I must say sometimes I want to get drunk and forget everything, but I simply can't. I've done too much in years to waste in minutes. Anyway, I better get going. I hear the Mets are going against the Yankees tonight. I can't wait to see Vivian tomorrow! _

"And that's it." Jack said sighing.

"I was almost positive Danny was really upset with me." Martin muttered.

"Oh he hated you when you first came here." Jack said with a smile. "He wrote about you for pages. Then he felt bad about it, so he wrote pages about how great you were."

Martin gave Jack a small smile. "We need to consider that Danny did commit suicide." Vivian said gravely.

Jack nodded. "Why? From what I can tell, Danny seems pretty happy. He talks about the Mets and he seemed fine on Friday." Sam said.

Vivian sighed. "Danny's attempted suicide before and we all know how this case was hard on all of us. He might have snapped." Vivian said. "But I think it's unlikely. However, it is still an option."

"One that we're not going to look in depth. Do we know who called Danny at one in the morning?" Jack asked changing the subject.

Martin nodded. "It was one Jake Ball." Martin said looking through Danny's phone records.

"Okay, Martin take Sam with you to see Jake Bell. Vivian and I will stay here and look through Danny's old files." Jack said quietly.

Jack watched as everyone left again. They were going to find Danny Taylor, but the question was, would they find him alive or not?


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Jake Bell was a scrawny man with huge glasses. He worked as a computer programmer. "Jake Bell?" Martin asked.

Jake nodded. "Yes?" Jake asked.

Sam pulled out her badge. "FBI. Do you know a Danny Taylor?" Sam questioned.

Jake looked suspicious. "Yes…he works with the FBI, doesn't he?" Jake said quietly.

"Yes he does, but he didn't show up for work today. In fact, no one has heard from him since you called him at one in the morning on Saturday." Martin said calmly.

Jake started to wring his hands nervously. "Danny's a good person. I met him in AA. I didn't do anything to him." Jake said shakily.

Martin started to move closer to Jake. "You better start telling the truth before we take you back to our office." Martin threatened.

Jake backed up. "I am! I am telling you the truth. Things were bad on Friday night and I was drinking late. Somehow I got on top of the roof of my apartment balling my eyes out. Danny gave me his number in case something like this happened…" Jake began.

_Jake sat waiting as he cried on top of the roof. Things were pretty messed up in his life. Danny promised him he would be there soon. Sure enough, minutes later, Danny was right next to Jake calmly talking to him. "Come on Jake, don't end it this way." Danny said gently. _

"_You don't get it. I just want to let go!" Jake said laughing. "I wanna fly…" _

_Danny gently pulled Jake away from the ledge. "No. You don't want to." Danny said firmly leading Jake back into his apartment. _

"I was pretty drunk, but Danny made sure I was okay before he left." Jake said quietly. "How many people do you know that are willing to do that?"

Sam sighed. She had to admit, not many people would reach out to others like that. Danny really was something else.

((-))

Martin and Sam walked back into the FBI building. "You get anything from Jake Bell?" Jack asked.

Sam shook her head. "Jake was about to kill himself when he called Danny. Danny came over and talked him off of the roof and made sure he was okay before leaving." Sam said.

"What time did he leave at?" Vivian asked.

Martin shrugged. "Jake was drunk, but he thought it was around two." Martin answered.

Jack sighed. "What happened to Danny in those two hours?" Jack asked before his cell phone rang.

"Malone," Jack said swiftly.

"Jack, it's me, Danny." A quiet voice said on the other end.

Jack quickly put the cell phone on speaker phone. "Danny, where are you?" Jack asked urgently.

Jack could hear Danny crying. "I'm calling to say don't look for me? Is that what the paper says?" Danny questioned.

"You jerk!" A voice in the background said. "I'm going to kill you now!"

"I'm in a warehouse! We're still in NY City!" Danny shouted before a gunshot.

Jack then heard Danny cry out in pain. "I'm not going help you kill me!" Danny yelled.

"You're as good as dead!" The voice hollered before hanging up the cell phone.

Jack looked at the cell phone in horror. "Danny risked his life to try and give us a clue." Jack muttered.

"My guess is that the kidnapper was going to have Danny call in to say he was going to commit suicide or something of that sort to make us stop looking for him. Danny took a real chance." Vivian commented.

Jack rubbed his forehead. "It could have gotten him killed. He could be dead now." Jack said sighing in frustration.

"Danny's smart. He wouldn't do something unless he knew he wasn't going to get killed for it." Sam said.

"Hopefully that's the case," Martin mumbled.

((-))

Danny saw the kidnapper leave the room. Luckily, he left the cell phone in the room. However, Danny was tied to a pipe on the opposite side of the room. Danny pulled and struggled against the ropes. He needed to get out. Desperate times call for desperate measures. Danny found a sharp piece of metal. He knew if he cut his wrist, he should have been able to slip his wrist out of the ropes.

Danny took a deep breath before quickly making a small cut on his wrist. Blood started flowing out. Danny quickly struggled against the rope becoming more and more alarmed when he couldn't get it out. Finally, it came out. He reached over and untied his left hand before crawling over to the phone. He dialed Jack's number.

((-))

"Malone," Jack said tiredly.

"Jack. I am very glad to hear your voice." Danny said equally tired.

"Danny!" Jack exclaimed putting him on speaker phone.

"The kidnapper isn't very smart. He ties me up and leaves a cell phone in the room." Danny said with a small laugh.

"How are you?" Jack asked breathlessly.

"I've been beaten pretty badly Jack. I won't lie to you; I'm pretty much useless right now. If I could, I would run right out of here, but I can't. I've been shot twice in one leg, my head hurts, I think I have a few broken ribs and it really hurts. Not to mention how I had to cut my wrists to get out of the ropes." Danny said sighing.

"You cut your wrists?" Sam asked alarmed.

Danny let out a small laugh. "Hello Sam. Don't worry. I know what I'm doing. I had to in order to get out. It's bleeding a little, but it won't kill me." Danny said.

"We talked to Mrs. White and Jake, but what happened after Jake's house?" Vivian asked.

"I got another call on my cell phone of which I have with me from someone. It was a female and she was crying and saying how her husband had beaten her. She said her friend told her about me. She told me I had to hurry before he killed her." Danny said taking a deep breath. "I screwed up Jack. I just couldn't help helping her."

"It's okay Danny. Just tell us what happened next." Jack gently prodded.

"The lady gave me directions and I made my way into the Bronx. When I approached this apartment, I was ambushed. As soon as that happened, I called the first number on the top of my head. When you weren't there, I left a message." Danny said quietly. "I went out to get a shot in when I felt something burning in my leg. I fell to the ground realizing I had been shot in the leg. Several men came and took me from there in a van. They drove around forever until we reached a warehouse. I'm pretty sure we're still in New York City."

"Okay, now what about this woman?" Martin asked.

"One of the men bought a good voice enhancer. I was fooled! I was so stupid for going into the Bronx for a person I hadn't even met…" Danny muttered.

"You weren't stupid Danny. It's just your nature. I hope that you never change that. You've helped a lot of people Danny." Jack said gently.

"I assume you went through my apartment." Danny said quietly.

Jack sighed. "I did." Jack said.

Danny felt his heart break. "If you could just not tell anyone else. I really hadn't intended to do any of those things and I was a different person back then." Danny said. "Anyway, I don't want to hang up, but if I don't, I could be found soon. Did you get a trace?"

Sam let out a small sob. "Um…no. We weren't able to Danny." Sam said clearly upset.

Danny smiled. "Well, I think we all know how this is going to end. I've done a good job of pissing these people off. I doubt I'm going to make it out of here alive. That's why…" Danny began.

"Don't you dare say goodbye!" Jack shouted angrily. "We're going to find you Danny! You understand?"

Danny nodded to himself. "I have no doubt you'll find me, but will I still be alive?" Danny muttered. "I really don't want to hang up, but I hear someone coming. Thanks and bye."

Then the line was dead. As soon as the line went dead, it was like a part of the missing persons unit died as well.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

For a minute, no one moved, no one said anything. All they did was sit in silence…in shock. It was Martin that at last broke the silence. "He was in the Bronx." Martin said shortly.

Jack cleared his throat. "Uh…yeah." Jack said at last.

"We should probably check it out." Martin said. "Danny said he was ambushed so someone had to have heard something."

Vivian let out a dry laugh. "It's the Bronx. No one ever hears anything." Vivian said shortly.

((-))

It was Martin's idea to go around door to door asking people questions. It was a massive task for only four people, but Martin wanted to try it. At that point, the team was willing to try anything. However, they didn't want to waste time, so Jack gave them a half-hour. If they didn't find anything, they would go back to New York City.

Martin had already knocked on hundreds of doors before he stumbled into an alley. The first thing he noticed was a pool of blood and then he noticed the shell casings on the ground. There were hundreds of them. Martin pulled out his cell phone and called Jack, Sam and Vivian to tell them his location. "You guys, I think I got something." Martin said quickly.

((-))

A perky lab tech sat down at her computer smiling. "Well the blood at the scene matches Danny Taylor's blood. About ten shots were made by your guy. About ninety were from three different guns." The woman said before frowning. "Sadly, we don't have any of these bullets in the directory. These guns and their bullet striations have never been used in a crime before. I can tell you that one guy had a semi-automatic, another had a fully automatic and the other had a pistol."

Sam sighed. "So they came prepared for a war?" Sam asked.

The lab tech nodded grimly. "It looks that way." The lab tech said.

((-))

Sitting in the electronic lab, Jack sighed in frustration. "Can't you get a trace?" Jack asked. "I mean this is Danny's phone. He didn't make it untraceable."

The tech nodded. "Yeah I get you, but someone else made his phone untraceable. All I can tell you is that he's still in North America." The tech said trying to explain things easily.

"Oh thanks!" Jack said sarcastically. "That narrows down our search so much!"

The tech put up his hands. "Dude, I can't do anything else. I'm sorry." The tech said.

Vivian gently moved Jack along into the hall. "Jack, we all want Danny back, but we have to accept that there are some things we can't do." Vivian said gently.

Jack sighed. "This office hasn't had a missing agent in years." Jack said quietly. "They've never had to…deal with it. I never knew how much I'd miss Danny. He's a great kid. He always wants to help and he does things with a smile…Viv, this kid has been to hell. He grew up there, but he came out. He came out and he's making the world a better place because he knows what it's like to be in hell. He never complains about anything. He's…he's like an angel."

Vivian smiled. "Yes, Danny is an angel. Think about how many lives he's touched because of that." Vivian said rubbing Jack's shoulder.

"On that note, think of all the people's he's pissed off because of who he helped." Jack said sighing.

With heavy eyes, Jack looked up at Vivian. "How are we going to find him? We don't have anything to go on." Jack said in a defeated tone.

Vivian looked deep into Jack's eyes. "There is always something." Vivian said.

Sam and Martin walked up to Vivian and Jack. "I was thinking of something, Danny mentioned that he thought he was in a warehouse in New York City." Sam offered.

"It'll be impossible to get search warrants for all of those warehouses." Vivian warned.

Martin smiled. "Yes, but what if we could narrow it down to a warehouse near a train station?" Martin asked.

Jack looked at them confused. "How can you tell that?" Jack asked.

"When Danny called, we were able to isolate a train whistle that sounded pretty close on the tape." Sam said with a large smile.

Jack sighed. "We still won't be able to get search warrants." Jack said quietly.

"Well, when we have a suspect, we know where to look." Sam said firmly.

Jack gave her a small smile. "It's a start." Jack offered.

((-))

Jack's phone rang again. He saw immediately that it was Danny. "Malone," Jack answered.

"It's me." Danny said in a tired tone.

"How are you?" Jack asked concerned fully aware that Sam, Martin and Vivian were now listening.

There was silence at first. "Jack, what day is it?" Danny asked softly.

"What do you mean?" Jack asked confused.

"What is today?" Danny repeated.

"It's Monday night." Jack answered.

Danny let out a dry laugh. "That means I haven't eaten in almost three days." Danny said.

"What happened after you called Danny?" Jack asked worriedly.

Danny sighed. "I was shot. It was aimed for my heart, but I'm lucky. I only got hit in the shoulder. The guy said he had a perfect cure for a gunshot wound. He took a piece of hot metal and burned the wound. Let me tell you that anyone within a five mile radius would have heard that." Danny said sadly. "When he found out how I got out, he was so angry. He took my handcuffs, _my handcuffs_, and handcuffed me to this pipe. He hit my head against the cement wall. I'm really tired Jack and I'm so hungry. He…he ate a burger in front of me. Afterwards, he put the fries as far away from me. This isn't normal Jack. This isn't torture. No, it's worse. This is cruel."

"Danny, how did you get the cell phone?" Jack asked trying to get Danny to forget his hunger.

"He gave it to me. It's my cell phone and I thought it was odd he would give me a way to contact you, but then he told me you wouldn't be able to do anything. He apparently made it untraceable." Danny said. "This whole situation is ironic."

Sam looked confused. "How?" Sam asked.

Danny sighed. "It's ironic in several ways. The first being that it's ironic that an FBI agent in the missing persons unit goes missing. The second being that if it weren't for this guy, I wouldn't be alive. My life is literally in his hands. You see, he wants to keep me alive. In order to do so, he has to make sure I eat something and drink. He gives me a glass of dirty water everyday and a piece of bread. It's not enough to not make me suffer, but it's enough to keep me alive." Danny explained. "Listen to me! I've really lost it now. Sorry about that. It's kind of hard to think straight here…"

"It's alright Danny." Vivian comforted.

Martin rubbed his forehead. "Danny, do you hear anything?" Martin asked quietly.

"Yes. I forgot to mention that to you. I hear a railroad. I'm in a warehouse near a railroad." Danny said firmly.

"Okay that's really good. Now, do you remember how long you were driving for?" Martin pressed.

Danny was quiet for a minute. "I would have to say we were driving for over an hour, but I think they drove in circles." Danny answered. "Can you trace this call? I know he said you couldn't, but that can't be right."

Jack sighed. "No Danny, he's right. We can't trace it." Jack said.

"Then how are you going to find me? Are you going to cross reference anyone I know to see if they own a warehouse near a railroad or have access to one?" Danny asked.

Sam gave a quiet laugh. "We actually didn't think of that. That's brilliant. I'm already one it." Sam said quickly moving to her computer.

Martin did the same. "I'm working on it too." Martin announced.

Danny closed his eyes. "Jack, I'm very tired, hungry and even scared. Tell me honestly, do you think you will be able to find me?" Danny asked.

Jack looked at Vivian for some help. "Tell him the truth," Vivian whispered.

"Honestly, I'm not sure…no. We'll find you Danny. If I have to work day and night, I will, but we are going to find you." Jack said determinedly.

"You know talking to you guys makes me feel better, but I know you have a job to do." Danny said.

"No, I can stay and talk with you." Jack said.

"Thank you, but I'd rather be in silence and have you find me faster than to be talking and never be found." Danny said gently. "I'll see you soon."

Jack smiled. Even now, Danny was being as optimistic as he could be. "Yeah kid, I'll see you soon." Jack said before slowly hanging up the phone.

There was no need for goodbyes because there would always be a tomorrow to say hello to.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Blood. It was everywhere. In his mind there were two little words floating around. _Too late. Too late. Too late. _All he could think was that he found him, but…he was an hour too late. He was always an hour too late! Damn! Damn!

----

Jack awoke in his chair with sweat dripping down his face. _It was just a dream. _Jack said trying to calm himself down. _Danny's still fine. There's still time. _

Vivian walked in to Jack's office find Jack sitting in his chair as pale as a ghost. "What's wrong?" Vivian asked.

Jack shook his head. "Nothing. Were you able to find anyone?" Jack asked.

Vivian shook her head. "No. We checked people he's put away, neighbors, his brother, his brother's friends, everyone." Vivian said. "But we still came up with nothing."

"What if we don't find him in time Viv?" Jack asked in a childish tone.

Vivian gently patted Jack's back. "We'll find him in time." Vivian said comfortingly.

Jack shook his head. "Don't try that Viv. I wonder, what if we get there and Danny's already dead?" Jack asked.

Vivian sighed. "Well, we can't do much at that point. I guess we could give him a good burial and make sure his picture is put up with other agents that died in the line of duty, but we won't have to do that." Vivian said. "We'll find him in time."

"I just don't know. I mean we don't have much to go on." Jack said.

Just as Jack said that, his computer beeped. Jack looked over to see he had a new e-mail. Jack opened it only to find a simply message.

_You have 4 hours to find the agent or he's dead. _

Attached to the message was a photo. It was of Danny. His right hand was connected to a pipe and he was bleeding all over. His face was black and blue. The most heart breaking thing though was his eyes. He had this sad expression in his eyes that begged 'please find me'. Another message popped up.

_Your 4 hours start now. _

With that message was a count down. "We have to find Danny in four hours!" Jack shouted jumping up.

Vivian rushed around to see what Jack had seen. She covered in mouth in horror. She followed Jack into the bullpen. Sam and Martin saw the e-mail after Jack told them what happened. "Where do we start?" Sam asked.

Jack paused for a minute. "Wait, did you check on the families of the people Danny's helped put away?" Jack asked.

Everyone seemed frozen. "N…no." Martin stuttered.

Sam was already typing away furiously. "I got something!" Sam shouted. "Amy Richards, her father was Jim Richards. Jim kidnapped a four year old girl and then murdered her. He's currently serving a life sentence. Amy works at a publishing company that recently went out of business. The company has a warehouse that's up for sale. Amy has a key."

Jack grabbed his coat. They were going to save Danny!

((-))

A SWAT team swiftly broke down the door to the warehouse. They cleared every room. The warehouse was empty. "Jack!" Martin called.

Jack's heart was filled with joy. He assumed that Martin had found Danny. As Jack walked into one room, he found that there was a pool of blood next to a pipe with handcuffs on it. Sam and Vivian rushed in after Jack. Jack found a letter with two words on it.

_Too late! _

"What?" Jack asked angrily. "We got here before the four hours were up!"

"Yes, but I didn't really care about that Danny kid." A voice said at the door.

Sam, Vivian, Martin and Jack all swiftly pulled out their guns. "Amy Richards!" Sam exclaimed.

A woman holding a gun laughed. "Very good." Amy said.

"What are we doing here?" Jack asked.

Amy smiled. "You see, it wasn't Danny I was after. Oh no! It was you Jack Malone! Apparently, you were the one to ultimately put my father away. I heard from several people that a good way to get to you is to get to your people. So I got some people to kidnap Danny. You're not very well liked so it was easy for me to find a team of people willing to kidnap and kill Danny Taylor all to get back at you. You can go ahead and kill me. I don't really care. You are going to suffer forever because you'll never really know what happened to Danny Taylor. I'm never going to say. I might keep him alive or he might already be dead." Amy said with a grin.

Amy put the gun down on the ground and kicked it towards the FBI agents. "I don't need to kill you. You all have already done a good job of doing that. You'll all live to be a hundred and when you die you'll still be wondering 'what happened to Danny Taylor?'. It'll kill you to know that you don't really know anything at all." Amy taunted.

SWAT team members already were putting handcuffs on Amy. As Jack watched Amy being led away he could only feel his heart break. There was a lot of blood on the floor.

((-))

An hour later, Martin received a call in the bullpen. He nodded and then quickly hung up. For a while, Martin just sat at his desk trying to understand what he had just heard. Martin finally stood up looking at Sam, Vivian and Jack. "Uh…a body was found in an alley about ten minutes ago. It matches Danny's description and…" Martin said before a sob came from him. "And they found his FBI badge…"

Sam shook her head. "No…no…no…" Sam repeated.

Martin swallowed. "They…they need someone to identify…the…the…body…" Martin said before he threw up his stomach contents in the nearest trash can.

Jack remained stone faced while Vivian silently cried. "So they don't **defiantly **know that it's Danny?" Jack asked with a slight glimmer of hope.

A/N- Sorry about the cliffhanger here! I'll try and get the next chapter up soon.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Jack, as Danny's boss and emergency contact, was the one to make his way down to the city morgue. Jack could barely get into his car without crying. Once he arrived at the city morgue, he slowly walked into the reception area. "Jack Malone," Jack said to a lady who was smiling.

"Are you here about Danny Taylor?" The lady asked still with a smile.

Jack nodded not able to speak another word. "Okay, this woman here will take you." The lady said.

Another woman with a smile gently escorted Jack down a dimly lit hall way. He was brought into a room. It was neatly furnished with a box of tissues next to a soft chair. There was a glass that had a curtain on it. "Are you ready?" The woman asked.

Jack was wondering how could they even ask that? Was anyone really ready to identify their friend? Jack nodded. The woman pulled the curtain back. Jack saw a young man in his twenties. He was Hispanic, but he was not Danny Taylor. "No. This isn't Danny Taylor." Jack said firmly.

The woman gave him a sad smile. "Are you sure sir? We found the badge…" The woman began.

"Can I see the badge?" Jack asked.

The woman nodded as she reached into her pocket. "I thought you might ask." The woman said before handing it over to Jack.

Jack opened it and showed her the photo of Danny. "Does that look like him?" Jack asked.

The woman gave him an embarrassed smile. "Um…no. It doesn't. I'm sorry. We just assumed since we had the badge…" The woman said.

Now it was Jack's turn to smile. "It's fine. We all make mistakes. Can I take this badge? It could be important to our investigation." Jack said.

The woman nodded. "Have a good day, sir." She said as Jack was leaving.

The drive back was much easier now that he knew that the body wasn't Danny's.

((-))

Jack walked into the bullpen to have Martin, Sam and Vivian crowd around him. "Is it…is it…him?" Sam whispered.

Jack shook his head with a smile. "No. It's not him." Jack said with a grin.

Sam let out more tears. "Why is she crying?" Martin asked with a smile.

"She's a female." Jack muttered.

"I'm just…relieved." Sam said with a smile as she wiped away her tears.

"Why was the badge there?" Vivian wondered.

"Well, apparently the person was hoping we would just drop the case when we got the news. They didn't expect us to go and identify the body. Since the badge was there, the morgue assumed it was Danny. The kidnappers would have gotten away with it." Jack said sighing.

Vivian smiled. "If they wanted us to think Danny was dead, then he must still be alive." Vivian said.

Jack nodded. "That's what I was thinking." Jack agreed.

((-))

"Why don't we check Amy Richard's phone records? She probably called the kidnappers and she already told us they were people you caught." Sam offered.

Jack nodded. For ten minutes, all four of them were looking through phone records. "I've got three people." Vivian said handing the paper to Jack.

"Do you want to get warrants for all three of them?" Martin asked as he began dialing.

"Yeah, why?" Jack asked.

"A female friend of mine is an ADA," Martin answered with a grin.

((-))

Vivian knocked on the door. This was the third guy's place they were checking. Danny had to have been here. "Simon Young!" Vivian shouted. "FBI! We have a warrant!"

When there was no answer, Martin kicked the door in. The SWAT team started clearing rooms. Jack made his way into the basement. There he saw Danny laying on the floor and Simon Young standing over him with a gun. Simon looked over at Jack with a smile. BANG! BANG!

Two shots. One life. Jack's heart stopped as soon as he heard the first shot. Danny heart stopped then too. One life. One chance. Two shots. One life. Once chance. Two shots.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Jack couldn't believe he pulled the trigger. The first shot was Simon Young's. The bullet entered Danny's chest at point blank range. The second shot was Jack's. After Jack shot Young, he ran down the stairs to Danny. Blood was freely flowing out of his chest.

When he saw the blood, he froze for a minute. That blood…was Danny's blood. It was a shocking thought. Somehow, Jack managed to get himself by Danny's side and press his hand against Danny's wound. "We need a medic!" Jack heard himself shouting.

Jack looked at Danny. He had a smile on his face while he began to cough up blood. "You're going to be okay." Jack said. "You're going to be fine Danny."

Danny kept the smile on his face. "Th…ankss…for…find…ing…me…" Danny said as he struggled to breathe.

Jack watched in horror as Danny began to drown in his own blood. "Don't quit on me now Danny!" Jack shouted. "Don't you dare quit on me now!"

Danny's smile faded. His whole body went still. A paramedic gently pushed Jack out of the way as he and his partner attempted to revive Danny. What seemed like hours later, the paramedic nodded in relief. "We've got a pulse, but it's week. Mary, get him stable. We need to transport him ASAP." The paramedic said before he and his partner rushed Danny out of the room.

For a minute, Jack just stood still. The room was dimly lit, but he could see Danny's pool of blood. As soon as he saw that he felt violently ill. That was Danny's blood! Danny's! It was too much for Jack to take. He began to let out heart wrenching sobs that shook his whole body. Vivian was somehow by his side rubbing his back. "It's alright Jack. It's going to be okay." Vivian murmured.

Martin and Sam appeared on the steps just staring at Jack. They had never seen Jack so distraught. In fact, they hadn't seen Jack upset. They had seen Jack angry, but not…crying. Sam was worried sick about Danny, but she was worried about Jack too. _Damn, why does it have to be so difficult? _Sam thought.

Vivian motioned for Sam and Martin to go. She had it under control. Sam gave her a small smile before quickly leaving. Martin gave Jack one last glance before he followed Sam. "Jack, look at me." Vivian said taking Jack's shoulders.

Jack looked her in the eye. "Jack, everything is going to be alright." Vivian said gently.

"He shot Danny at point blank range." Jack muttered staring at Young's body.

Vivian nodded. "I know Jack, but let's go to the hospital." Vivian said ushering Jack up the stairs.

Jack somehow snapped out of his fog like state. "Yeah," Jack said swiftly. "Let's go."

((-))

Sam was pacing in the waiting room. Martin was rubbing his forehead. Vivian was sipping a cup of coffee. But Jack was the worst. Jack was just sitting in a chair with a blank expression on his face. A male nurse was walking down the hall. Sam rushed over to him. "Do you know about Danny Taylor's condition?" Sam asked quickly.

The male nurse shrugged. "I don't know. I heard he's in surgery." He said.

"What do you mean he's in surgery? He's been in surgery for the past two hours!" Sam shouted advancing on the man.

He put up his hands. "Lady, I don't know much. I'm only a nurse…" He began.

Martin rushed over and gently guided Sam away from the man. "Get your hands off me Martin!" Sam shrieked.

Martin kept his hand firmly on Sam's shoulder. It was then when Sam sank to the floor sobbing. Martin kneeled next to Sam gently rubbing her shoulder. He had no kind words to offer to her. "I'm sure he's going to be fine." Martin said at last.

Sam kept sobbing. "I've been such a jerk. Not only to Danny, but to you, to Jack, to Vivian!" Sam cried.

"Sam, I don't know what you're talking about." Martin said slightly confused.

Sam shrugged. "I'm not the greatest person to be around. I get…emotional." Sam muttered.

"Like now?" Martin asked.

Sam let out something in-between a laugh and a cry. Sam wiped her tears. "Yeah," Sam said getting up.

Sam sat down in a waiting room chair and was silent. For the next three hours, the team was silent. They just spent their time hoping, praying and thinking.

((-))

_He was running. Why couldn't he get away? No wait! He stopped running. What was he even running from? He looked behind him. He saw nothing but a shadow. Was I running from myself? He thought. Was I running from my past? Was I running from my mistakes? My fears? _

_I need to stop running. I need to face life. It's far too short… _

"Danny?" A voice asked above him awaking him from his dream. "Danny, can you hear me?"

_I must have died. What will I regret the most? Will I regret how I never told anyone about my parents? Will I regret how I was an alcoholic? Or will I regret how many people I never got the chance to save? _

_Life's too short…_


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Two hours later, nearly five hours after they found Danny, a doctor finally came out to meet them. "Is a Jack Malone here?" The doctor asked when he looked at his clipboard.

Jack stood up. "Yeah?" Jack asked.

"Danny listed you as his emergency contact. Thus, I am to relay all information to you…" The doctor began.

"Whatever to say to me, you can say to my team." Jack said firmly.

The doctor shook his head. "No sir, you're going to want to come with me." The doctor said gently.

Jack followed the doctor into an office. Sam looked at Vivian nervously. "If he's talking to Jack, then maybe something's wrong." Sam said worriedly.

"Or maybe he's preserving doctor patient privilege," Vivian suggested.

((-))

_What will I miss most about my life? I'll miss my job, but more importantly, my co-workers. I'll miss how Jack takes control. I'll miss how Vivian doesn't realize that the Mets are so much better than the Yankees. I'll miss how Sam laughs. I'll miss how Martin is. I'll miss them so much._

_I'll miss not being able to help anyone. I know how bad things get, but I want to make sure no one else has to know. I'll miss being able to eat a hog dog or laugh with friends. I'll miss being able to watch TV and listen to the radio. I'll miss my neighbors. I'll miss walking, talking, running and smiling. I'll even miss paperwork! I'll miss the pure idea of life. _

_Yeah, that's what I'll miss most about life. I'll miss life itself. _

((-))

Jack couldn't hear everything coming out of the doctor's mouth. "Broken ribs…bullet wounds…infection…pain…burns…dehydration…malnutrition…head trauma…" The doctor said.

Jack only caught a little of what the doctor was saying. He got most of the important stuff. But he didn't need a doctor to tell him that Danny was hurt. "Is he going to be okay?" Jack heard himself asking the doctor.

The doctor nodded. "Yes. He's in ICU right now. He's sleeping." The doctor said. "But the months ahead are going to be rough. He's going to have to have a lot of physical therapy."

Jack felt his heart soar for the first time in days. "How did he survive the shot to the chest?" Jack asked.

"How did he survive the shot to the leg, the shot to the shoulder, the cuts, the burn, the head trauma, the dehydration, the malnutrition?" The doctor asked sighing. "I don't have an answer for you Mr. Malone. All I know is that this child is a miracle. A normal person would have already been dead, but he…he beat the odds."

"Can we see him?" Jack asked.

The doctor smiled. "He deserves to see you guys for at least ten minutes." The doctor said. "Please don't wear him out too much. He's still very sick."

Jack nodded as he walked out of the room and into the waiting room. Jack very quickly explained Danny's situation to the others. Sam smiled widely. Martin and Vivian did the same. "He's going to be alright!" Sam said excitedly.

((-))

Jack opened Danny's door in horror. There he saw a man hooked up to an IV. The man had bruises all over his body and the top half of him was covered in bandages. His left arm was in a sling. The lower part of his body was covered with a blanket and a huge bandage was around his head. "I must have died." The voice from the bed said weakly.

Sam, Martin and Vivian walked in. "Why's that Danny?" Jack asked quietly.

"I mean heaven is the only place I can find angels like you guys." Danny said with a faint smile.

Sam let a few tears escape from her eyes. "How are you doing buddy?" Martin asked.

"I think it looks worse than it is." Danny said quietly. "But to answer your question, I'm doing better than those Yankees, right Viv?"

Vivian laughed. "Whatever you say Danny," Vivian said with a smile.

Danny looked over at Jack. "Hey Jack, I know how you get. I know it looks bad and it is, but I really meant what I said. Thank you for finding me. All of you. Just think, if you didn't find me at that moment, I could very well be dead." Danny muttered.

"For once in your life could you please not think about everyone else and worry about yourself," Jack said gently.

Danny gave him a small smile. "How are you really doing?" Sam asked quietly.

"To tell you the truth, it hurts…well let's just say it hurts. Don't ever get shot three times. It is not pleasant." Danny mumbled.

Vivian saw that Danny's eyes were beginning to close. She motioned for everyone to quietly leave. They all took one last glance at Danny before leaving the room.

((-))

In the hall, Sam put her hand over her mouth. "He looks really bad." Sam said fearfully.

Jack nodded. "The doctor says he's in constant pain." Jack said.

"Isn't there anything they can do for him?" Martin asked worriedly.

"They put him on a morphine drip, but that isn't going to do much. However, it's the best medicine they're willing to give him at this point. He's taking so many medications; they don't want any of them reacting with another." Jack said sighing.

Vivian shook her head. "Danny's been through a lot." Vivian said.

"And he never lost his sense of humor," Sam added.

They all smiled for a moment. Danny really was something.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

One Week Later 

Vivian went to visit Danny by herself. When she got there, Danny was in a sitting position with the help of his bed. Danny was reading a newspaper. "Hi Danny," Vivian greeted.

Danny looked up at Vivian with a smile. "Hi Vivian. How are things at the office?" Danny asked.

Vivian shrugged. "Things are alright. How are you?" Vivian asked.

Danny looked at her sadly. "Viv, can I tell you something?" Danny asked.

Vivian nodded. "Of course," Vivian said gently.

"It hurts to breathe. It's very painful to do much at all. The doctors say that it's normal, but I can't believe that I can't breathe without being in pain!" Danny said quietly.

Vivian gently patted Danny's hand. "I can't imagine how that must feel." Vivian said softly. "Is there anything I can do for you?"

"Could you please not tell Jack, Martin or Sam? I don't want them to worry about me." Danny said.

Vivian gave him a small smile. "I think it's a little late for that." Vivian said. "We're all worried about you."

Danny returned Vivian's small smile. "I kind of feel…I don't know. I'm in a lot of pain and I can't do much. I get bored easily and I'm really frustrated. The doctors aren't sure how my leg is going to be, they don't know how much damage the bullet did to my shoulder and as for my chest, they really aren't sure of that either." Danny said.

"Well you're going to have to give it some time. It's going to be a long recovery." Vivian said softly.

Danny closed his eyes for a minute. "Viv, who went through my apartment?" Danny asked.

"Jack was the only one." Vivian said.

"And my desk?" Danny asked.

"Martin," Vivian replied.

Danny smiled. "Good. I'm glad you all did a through job." Danny said quietly. "Was everything put back?"

Vivian thought for a moment. "I think so, but I'm not sure. There might be some stuff in evidence, but Jack's going to make sure you get it back as soon as possible." Vivian answered.

"Good," Danny said.

Vivian looked at her watch. "I'm sorry Danny, but I have to go." Vivian said. "Unlike you, I have to go to work."

"Have a good day," Danny said.

"You too," Vivian said. "I'll see you later."

As soon as Vivian left, Danny closed his eyes. He was already exhausted from having a conversation. It was going to be a very, very, very, very long recovery.

((-))

"How was Danny?" Martin asked as Vivian walked in.

Vivian shrugged. "He's in pain." Vivian answered.

Jack walked out with a file in his hand. Sam sighed. They already had another case. "Okay, we've got a missing female…" Jack began.

((-))

Jack visited Danny as soon as he got off of work. He knocked at Danny's door. Danny answered in a tired voice. Jack walked in to see how tired Danny looked. "Hey, how are you?" Jack asked walking over to Danny.

"A little tired, you?" Danny asked with all the strength he could muster.

"Good. Maybe I should leave…" Jack began.

A pale, bandaged, cold hand lightly grasped Jack's hand. "No, please stay." Danny's weak voice requested.

Jack pulled up a chair. "On the phone…you said…you looked in my journal…" Danny began.

"I'm sorry, but we had to. No one else knows the content of that journal, but you, me and the team." Jack reassured Danny.

"Thanks…I want to say that…I was a pretty troubled person before I met you guys…" Danny said quietly.

Jack suddenly went quiet. "Have you ever thought of suicide since you started working for the FBI?" Jack asked.

"No." Danny said as firmly as he could. "I…I love my job and my life. We see a lot of crap Jack, but I wouldn't drink or commit suicide over it. I go home…close my eyes…and wake up to another day."

Jack smiled. "Yeah," Jack said. "That's what I thought."

He's words fell to deaf ears though because when Jack looked over, Danny was already asleep.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

Four Months Later

After spends months in the hospital, Danny was finally able to go home about two months ago. Danny would never forget when he first walked through the door to his apartment and collapsed on the couch. It was a wonderful feeling.

The next two months Danny spent in physical therapy and continually visiting different doctors. Danny was still not allowed to work. This tore at him each day and night. Danny was sick of doing nothing. He wanted to get out of the house.

It had been four months since Danny had been held captive. Jack, Martin, Vivian and Sam all regularly visited Danny in his apartment, but they could easily tell he was getting bored. Jack knew Danny wouldn't be ready to go back into the field for a while. However, Danny's arm was healing nicely. Jack knew that Danny couldn't stay coped up for much longer. It was from this that Jack had come up with a perfect plan.

((-))

Jack knocked on Danny's door early one morning. Danny opened the door quickly. "Hello Jack," Danny said stepping aside. "Come in,"

Danny closed the door after Jack had walked inside. "What brings you over to this side of town so early?" Danny asked offering Jack a cup of coffee.

Jack shook his head. "I just wanted to tell you that you should probably get dressed." Jack said looking at Danny in jeans and a t-shirt.

Danny looked at Jack oddly. "What do you mean? I am dressed." Danny replied.

"Yes, but you can't expect to walk into the FBI office like that!" Jack exclaimed.

Danny grinned. "Are you serious?" Danny asked.

Jack nodded smiling back. "Yes, but it's only desk duty." Jack answered.

"Thank you Jack! Thank you!" Danny said excitedly.

Jack shook his head. "If only everyone was excited as you are about desk duty…" Jack muttered. "I'll see you at eight?"

Danny nodded. "Of course," Danny said realizing it was already seven in the morning.

Jack left the apartment. Danny could never have been happier.

((-))

Danny arrived a little before eight to find that Vivian was already sitting at her desk. "Hi Viv," Danny greeted as he set his coat down.

Vivian smiled. "Hey Danny. Are you coming back?" Vivian asked.

Danny nodded. "It's going to be desk duty for a while, but I couldn't be happier." Danny replied.

Vivian threw Danny the newspaper on her desk. It was the sports section. "Check the first page. Yankees and the Mets went against each other last night. The Yankees won." Vivian said.

Danny threw the paper back at Vivian. "I saw it. It was a lucky play by Damon." Danny said laughing.

Vivian sighed. "Sure…" Vivian said.

Sam walked in. "Hey Danny," Sam greeted.

"Hi Sam," Danny replied starting up his computer.

Martin came in directly after Sam. "Hi Danny," Martin said as he sat down at his desk.

"Hi Martin," Danny replied.

Jack walked in. "Okay, we've got a missing male. He's seventy two…" Jack began as he clipped up a photo of an old man on the white board.

Danny found himself smiling. This was what it was all about. If Danny had died, he knew he would have missed his job and friends, but he just didn't know how much. For a minute, Danny knew that he was the luckiest person on earth to have such a wonderful job and such devoted friends. He would never take that for granted.

_Life's too short. _Danny thought. _Life's too short. _

**The End **

Disclaimer: I do not own Without a Trace.

A/N- I hope you liked this story. If you liked it, check out my other stories. Have a great day!

Kylie Anderson


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